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Ashlee Miller
AP English Literature
Mrs. Martin
17 February 2011
Hercules in The Hero’s Adventure
The classic Disney movie, Hercules , incorporates every component of Joseph
Campbell's, The Hero's Adventure. Campbell had very specific qualifications for a character to be considered a mythological idol, and Hercules after being thoroughly analyzed exemplifies each aspect of a hero. Hercules also shows all the evidence of following Campbell’s “hero adventure.” Campbell states that there are three main steps of a hero myth; the departure, the initiation, and the return, in which the movie Hercules follows all of.
The Hero’s Adventure introduces the first step as the departure which begins with the call to adventure. This is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, this comes when Hercules finds out that he was adopted and goes in search of his real parents. Next, Hercules is granted “supernatural aid,” which occurs after he committed to the quest, this is when the satyr Phil appears in the movie to train Hercules. After intense training, “The Crossing of the First Threshold” occurs. This is the point where Hercules actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.
Campbell’s second step is initiation which includes many steps, first of which is the road of trials. On the road of trials the mythological hero, Hercules in this case, is faced with a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals in order to begin the transformation. Hercules must first leave his adoptive parents in search of his real father Zeus. This is the first challenge for Hercules for he

Miller 2 loves these people very much, but he knows in order to once sit amongst the gods he must depart and find Phil. Throughout the movie, Phil helped Hercules on his journey to becoming a true hero and finding his place. After an intense period of training, Phil managed to transform
Hercules from a scrawny boy to a strong man. It was only after this that Hercules was faced with even more challenges such as protecting the city of Thebes which counted as his; “physical deed, in which the hero performs a courageous act” (Campbell 123).
The temptress as included in The Hero’s Adventure is another test that Hercules is faced with when he meets Meg. At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion that the usually male hero may feel about his own earthy nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion to women. Meg is sent by Hades to tempt Hercules with lust and love and to make him unavailable to defend the city of Thebes from turmoil.
The atonement with the Father follows in which Hercules person had to confront and be initiated
Zeus to see if he had accomplished his task. Though Hercules believed he had proven himself worthy Zeus felt that he had not done anything worthy of the God status yet, this is of course until in Campbell’s words; “the ultimate boon” is achieved. This achievement occurs when
Hercules is granted immortality for defeating the Titans. Zeus felt that defeating the Titans and saving Mount Olympia and evidently the world, proved him worth as would Campbell who states; “a hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”
(Campbell 123). At the point where Hercules was challenging the Titans he was not thinking of his goal of immortality or a God status, he was looking to save everyone. All the previous steps served to prepare and purify Hercules for this step which was the original intent of his journey.

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Finally, Campbell introduces the step of return. In the final stretch of the film, we see
Hercules confirming his past identity with the one he has created as a true hero for a “hero sacrifices himself for something, that’s the morality of it” (Campbell 127). His final decision to not become a god and remain on earth shows how he has grown in wisdom and self-confidence.
He is now welcomed and appreciated for who he is by society and Meg the one he loves. After this realization, Hercules enters the crossing of the return threshold. This is the stage in which
Hercules must try to retain the wisdom he gained on his quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world (Campbell 162).
Hercules successfully completes his entire journey in accordance to Joseph Campbell’s three steps of a hero myth.
As Joseph Campbell makes clear there are archetypes present in every myth, and thus there are a few present in Disney’s Hercules . First is the character Meg who transitions from various character archetypes throughout different phases of the film. She begins as the servant to the evil figure because of her association and unpaid debt to Hades. Although she must do as she is told, it's obvious that underneath everything she has endured is a redeemable and good heart.
This becomes apparent when she is ordered to tempt Hercules into giving away his one weakness. Although she has transitioned into the role of the temptress, Hercules is able to save her with his true intentions. Now, instead of being dictated by her bond to Hades she falls in love with Hercules. Afterward, with Hades realizing that Meg is Hercules' true weakness he uses her to trap Hercules. She becomes the vulnerable female character or the damsel in distress that if rescued poses a threat to Hercules. Next, there is the satyr Phil who acts as Hercules mentor since he was responsible for training and preparing the hero for future trials. Phil also proves to be the perfect teacher for Hercules because of his past history with other famous heroes. It shows

Miller 4 that he has a reputation for teaching which ensures that Hercules is destined for greatness. Hades represents the devil figure because of his instilled hatred towards his brother, Zeus, ever since he was given the job to watch over the dead. Therefore his resentment grows when Hercules is born into the family because it was foretold that Hercules would interfere. Finally, the most significant archetypal character is Hercules who plays the role of the hero. At the very start of Hercules' journey he was taken away from his parents as an infant and placed in the home of complete strangers. Even though his true ancestry can be traced back to the gods he was raised amongst mortals. This hidden difference created problems for Hercules and challenged him to recognize his past and the solutions that soon followed. Joseph Campbell’s
The Hero’s Adventure
shows us that every myth follows the steps of the departure, the initiation, and the return and contains archetypes.

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Works Cited
Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth / Joseph Campbell. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Print.
Hercules, Ron Clements. Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Susan Egan, Rip Torn.
Walt Disney Pictures, 1997.